“ ‘If your brother becomes poor, and sells some of his possessions, then his kinsman who is next to him shall come, and redeem that which his brother has sold. If a man has no one to redeem it, and he becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, then let him reckon the years since its sale, and restore the surplus to the man to whom he sold it; and he shall return to his property. But if he isn’t able to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hand of him who has bought it until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.
“ ‘If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it has been sold. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. If it isn’t redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be made sure in perpetuity to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. But the houses of the villages which have no wall around them shall be accounted for with the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.
“ ‘Nevertheless, in the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem the houses in the cities of their possession at any time. The Levites may redeem the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, and it shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the pasture lands of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34 Or, kinsman.
Or, kinsman.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 Lev 25:25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and…
Lev 25:25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away [some] of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
Ver. 25. And if any of his kin.] Christ is our near kinsman, and so by propinquity, as man, had the right of redemption. {Rth 2:20; Rth 3:9; Rth 3:11; Rth 3:13}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34 Some of his possession, to wit, in the fields,…
Some of his possession, to wit, in the fields, but not in cities, Lev 25:29.
If any of his kin come to redeem it; or, if the redeemer come, being near akin to him, to whom the right of redemption belonged, Rth 3:2,9,12; Jer 32:7, who in this act was an eminent type of Christ, who was made near akin to us by taking our flesh, that he might perform the work of redemption for us.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv25–34 If thy brother be waxen poor,.... Is brought very…
If thy brother be waxen poor,.... Is brought very low, greatly reduced, and is in mean circumstances; hence Jarchi says, we learn, that no man may sell his field, unless his distress presses him and forces him to it; for, as Maimonides (c) observes, a man might not sell his estate to put money into his purse, or to trade with, or to purchase goods, servants, and cattle, only food:
and hath sold away some of his possession; not all of it, as Jarchi remarks; for the way of the earth or custom of the world teaches, that a man should reserve a field (or a part) for himself:
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and if any of his kin come to redeem it; come to the buyer and propose to redeem it, by giving what it was sold for, or in proportion to the time he had enjoyed it:
then shall he redeem that which his brother sold; nor was it in the power of the purchaser to hinder him, or at his option whether he would suffer him to redeem it or not: such an one was an emblem of our "goel", our near kinsman and Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ, who came in our nature into this world to redeem us, and put us into the possession of the heavenly inheritance; nor was it in the power of any to hinder his performance of it, for he is the mighty God, the Lord of Hosts is his name.
(c) Hilchot Shemittah Vejobel, c. 11. sect. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 34 If any of his kin come - Or, If…
If any of his kin come - Or, If the redeemer come, being near akin to him, who in this was an eminent type of Christ, who was made near akin to us by taking our flesh, that he might perform the work of redemption for us.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv25, 29, 32 Verse 25. Any of his kin come to redeem…
Verse 25. Any of his kin come to redeem it] The land that was sold might be redeemed, in the interim between jubilee and jubilee, by the former owner or by one of his kinsmen or relatives. This kinsman is called in the text גאל goel or redeemer; and was not this a lively emblem of the redemption of man by Christ Jesus? That he might have a right to redeem man, he took upon him human nature, and thus became a kinsman of the great family of the human race, and thereby possessed the right of redeeming that fallen nature of which he took part, and of buying back to man that inheritance which had been forfeited by transgression.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv27, 29, 34 Lev 25:27-28. The years of the sale — That…
Lev 25:27-28. The years of the sale — That is, from the time of the sale to the jubilee. See above, Lev 25:15-16. The overplus — That is, a convenient price for the years from the time of this redemption to the jubilee. Go out — That is, out of the buyer’s hand, without any redemption-money.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv25, 28, 30, 32 If thy brother be waxen poor - The Israelites…
If thy brother be waxen poor - The Israelites never parted with their land except under the pressure of poverty. Compare the answer of Naboth, 1Ki 21:3.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv27, 29, 33 Fruits. An estimation shall be made of what the…
Fruits. An estimation shall be made of what the buyer would probably have gotten for the fruits of the land, till the year of jubilee, and that sum shall be given to him; (Calmet) or what benefit he has already derived from the land shall be computed; so that, if he purchased it for 100 sicles, and had received the value of 80, he should be content with the addition of 20 more, ver. 53. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv29, 32 if a man sell a dwelling house in a…
if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold--All sales of houses were subject to the same condition. But there was a difference between the houses of villages (which, being connected with agriculture, were treated as parts of the land) and houses possessed by trading people or foreigners in walled towns, which could only be redeemed within the year after the sale; if not then redeemed, these did not revert to the former owner at the Jubilee.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 29, 32, 33, 34 25. Any of his kin — Kranold observes that…
25. Any of his kin — Kranold observes that there is no record of the goel ever exercising his right till after the death of him who sold the field. But this does not disprove his right to redeem it during the life of the impoverished seller. “The person sustaining this office was a lively figure of Christ, who assumed our nature that he might be our kinsman-redeemer, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, and in reference to whom it is said, ‘The Redeemer shall come out of Zion.’ He has by his sufferings and death brought back to man that inheritance which had been forfeited by sin.” — Bush. How this deepens the significance of those words of Isaiah, the evangelical prophet, quoted by our Saviour in the synagogue in Nazareth, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 29, 33, 34 25. be waxen poor] The original verb is almost…
25. be waxen poor] The original verb is almost confined to this ch., the one exception being Lev_27:8 (‘be poorer’).
his kinsman that is next unto him] Cp. the more explicit statement in Lev_25:48 f. For the important term Gô’çl, here rendered ‘kinsman,’ lit. vindicator, cp. Jer_32:8 ff.; Rth_4:1 ff., and Art. Goel in HDB.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv25–34 (25) If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath…
(25) If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold . . . —As poverty is the only reason which the Law here supposes might lead one to part with his field, the authorities during the second Temple concluded, and hence enacted, that it is not allowable for any one to sell his patrimony on speculation. This will account for the horror which Naboth expressed to Ahab of selling his patrimony: “The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee” (1Ki_21:3).
And if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem.—Better, then his nearest kinsman shall come and redeem. If he has thus been compelled by pressure of poverty to sell part of his land, then it is the duty of the nearest relation, or, as the original literally denotes, “the redeemer that is nearest to him,” to redeem the property which his impoverished relative has been obliged to sell. The expression “redeemer” is applied in Hebrew to one who, by virtue of being the nearest of kin, had not only to redeem the patrimony of the family, but to marry the childless widow of his brother (Rth_3:13), and avenge the blood of his relative (Num_35:19-28; Deu_19:6-12).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv25, 29, 32 Vers. 25-28. The right of redemption of land sold…
Vers. 25-28. The right of redemption of land sold continued always alive, and might be exercised by the original owner or his kinsman. If not exercised, the owner returned into his possession at any rate in the jubilee year. If a man had to sell his laud, he was bound to offer it to his nearest kinsman first. (see Jer_32:7, Jer_32:8)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v29 "And if a man sell a dwelling house in…
THE JUBILEE AND DWELLING HOUSES
Lev_25:29-34
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"And if a man sell a dwelling house in a wailed city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year shall he have the right of redemption. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be made sure in perpetuity to him that bought it, throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee. But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be reckoned with the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee. Nevertheless the cities of the Levites the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. And if one of the Levites redeem [not], then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the jubilee: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession."
In Lev_25:29-34 is considered the application of the jubilee ordinance to the sale of dwelling houses: first (Lev_25:29-31), to such sale in case of the people generally; secondly (Lev_25:32-34), to sales of houses by the Levites. Under the former head we have first the law as regards sales of dwelling houses in "walled cities"; to which it is ordered that the law of reversion in the jubilee shall not apply, and for which the right of redemption was only to hold valid for one year. The obvious reason for exempting houses in cities from the law of reversion is that the law has to do only with land such as may be used in a pastoral or agricultural way for mans support. And this explains why, on the other hand, it is next ordered (Lev_25:31) that in the case of houses in unwalled villages the law of redemption and reversion in the jubilee shall apply as well as to the land. For the inhabitants of the villages were the herdsmen and cultivators of the soil; and the house was regarded rightly as a necessary attachment to the land, without which its use would not be possible. But inasmuch as God had assigned no landholding to the Levites in the original distribution of the land, -and apart from their houses they had no possession (Lev_25:33), -in order to secure them in the privilege of a permanent holding, such as others enjoyed in their lands, it was ordered that in their case their houses, as being their only possession in real estate, should be treated as were the landholdings of members of the other tribes.
The relation, of the jubilee law to personal rights in the land having been thus determined and expounded, in the next place (Lev_25:35-55) is considered the application of the law to slavery. Quite naturally, this section begins (Lev_25:35-37) with a general injunction to assist and deal mercifully with any brother who has become poor. "If thy brother be waxen poor, and his hand fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee. Take thou no usury of him or increase; but fear thy God: that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor give him thy victuals for increase."
The evident object of this law is to prevent, as far as possible, that extreme of poverty which might compel a man to sell himself in order to live. Debt is a burden in any case, to a poor man especially; but debt is the heavier burden when to the original debt is added the constant payment of interest. Hence, not merely "usury" in the modern sense of excessive interest, but it is forbidden to claim or take any interest whatever from any Hebrew debtor. On the same principle, it is forbidden to take increase for food which may be lent to a poor brother; as when one lets a man have twenty bushels of wheat on condition that in due time he shall return for it twenty-two. This command is enforced (Lev_25:38) by reminding them from whom they have received what they have, and on what easy terms, as a gift; from their covenant God, who is Himself their security that by so doing they shall not lose: "I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God." They need not therefore have recourse to the exaction of interest and increase from their peer brethren in order to make a living, but are to be merciful, even as Jehovah their God is merciful.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv25, 30 Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
redeem
Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v25 Consideration for the Poor and for Slaves.
Consideration for the Poor and for Slaves.
v. 25. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, land or houses in the country, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, the man upon whom this duty devolved, v. 48, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold, buy it hack for the former owner.
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v. 26. And if the man, the original owner, have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it, if he finds himself in a position that he can buy back the land which he sold,
v. 27. then let him count the years of the sale thereof, since the sale was made, and restore the over-plus, whatever price had been paid for the crops still remaining till the next Year of Jubilee, unto the man to whom he sold it, that he may return unto his possession.
v. 28. But if he be not able to restore it to him, if he cannot raise the money needed to regain possession of his land in this way, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession, for the provision was that all leases, called sales, should terminate in the Year of Jubilee.
v. 29. And if a man sell a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he may redeem it, for the purchase price, within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it.
v. 30. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established forever to him that bought it throughout his generations; it shall not go out in the Jubilee. This was a distinct exception to the rule which applied to land in the open country and in towns.
v. 31. But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country; they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the Jubilee.
v. 32. Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites and the houses of the cities of their possession may the Levites redeem at any time. In their interest exceptions were always permitted.
v. 33. And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold and the city of his possession, that is, the house on its location in the city of the Levites, shall go out in the Year of Jubilee, be restored to the Levite, the original owner, without cost to him; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
v. 34. But the field of the suburbs of their cities, the open meadow-land surrounding their cities, used for pasturing their cattle arid flocks, may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession, and community property, at that.
v. 35. And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee, having failed entirely in his business, then thou shalt relieve him,—yea, though he be a stranger or a sojourner,—that he may live with thee. Here provision is made for the second contingency, namely, that connected with a man’s having sold himself into bondage on account of poverty. The paragraph is introduced with an admonition to help the poor brother who is in need of financial assistance.
v. 36. Take thou no usury of him or increase, neither interest in the case of money nor an added amount in the case of other necessaries of life; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
v. 37. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
v. 38. I am the Lord, your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. Because the Land of Promise was to the Israelites a gift of God’s merciful goodness, therefore they were not to forget kindness and mercy in dealing with their poor brothers.
v. 39. And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond-servant, not treat him as a slave nor have him perform the labor of a slave,
v. 40. but as an hired servant and as a sojourner, as a worker under contract, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of Jubilee;
v. 41. and then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. This ordinance supplements Exo 21:2-6, for it would come into effect both if the servant had not yet been with a master seven years, or if lie had declared his willingness to remain with his master and had received the mark of bondage in his ear.
v. 42. For they are My servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt, they were God’s peculiar property; they shall not be sold as bondmen.
v. 43. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, as over a true slave, but shalt fear thy God.
v. 44. Both thy bondmen and thy bond-maids which thou shalt have shall be of the heathen that are round about you; these only could be kept in true slavery; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
v. 45. Moreover, of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you which they begat in your land; and they shall be your possession, and could be kept arid treated as slaves.
v. 46. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen forever, this applying to heathen slaves of Hebrew masters only. But over your brethren, the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor.
v. 47. And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, the non-Israelite growing wealthy in the same proportion as the Israelite grew poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family, that is, to the descendants of immigrants who were not citizen;
v. 48. after that he is sold, he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him, in order not to have the disgrace of being in bondage to an outsider resting upon him;
v. 49. either his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, if he finds ways and means of raising the money, he may redeem himself.
v. 50. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the Year of Jubilee; and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him. The purchase price was to be divided by the number of years which he would have to serve till the next Tear of Jubilee, and the time which he had already served was to be valued in terms of a hired servant, this amount being subtracted from the entire sum.
v. 51. If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for, as much as his services would have been worth to his master until the Pear of Jubilee
v. 52. And if there remain but few years unto the Year of Jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption, in this case a relatively small sum.
v. 53. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him, as such he should be regarded by his master; and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight, so that the people would become aware of it: for as soon as such treatment were known, the government was supposed to act.
v. 54. And if he be not redeemed in these gears, then he shall go out in the Year of Jubilee, both he and his children with him.
v. 55. For unto Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God. Thus the Year of Jubilee became a year of freedom and of mercy to the entire people, but especially to the poor and oppressed, and a year of rest from toil and drudgery. In this respect, it was a type of the acceptable year of the Lord, in which the Gospel is being preached to the meek, in which the brokenhearted are being bound up, liberty is being proclaimed to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, this time being in itself a foretaste of the day when the sons of God will be received into the perfect and eternal liberty provided for them, Isa 61:1-3; Luk 4:17-21.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 29, 31, 33 the land was sold
the land was sold
This can be stated in active form. AT: "he sold the land" (See: Active or Passive)
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repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it
This can be made explicit. AT: "repay to the purchaser who bought it the money the purchaser would have made" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
the year of Jubilee
"the year of restoration" or "the year to return land." See how you translated it in Leviticus 25:10.
the land will be returned
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the one who had bought it will return the land" (See: Active or Passive)
will return to his property
"will go back to his land"
translationWords
prosper
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 29, 32 25:25 The Hebrew word translated buy it back (ga’al)…
25:25 The Hebrew word translated buy it back (ga’al) is often translated “redeem.” It means “to restore something to its original or proper state of existence.” The noun derived from this root (go’el) indicates the close relative who will restore what is out of order. The relative’s duties were to redeem the property of his kinsman and keep it in the family (see Ruth 4:1-4; Jer 32:6-15); to seek out the murderer of his kinsman and bring him to justice (Num 35:19); and to marry his brother’s widow and father a male heir to inherit the estate of his dead kinsman (Deut 25:5-10; see Gen 38:6-30; Ruth 4:9-10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.